Politics of the Sith
by King Under the Mountain
Summary: It has been nearly two decades since Darth Nox joined the Dark Council. The Empire is crumbling and tensions run high between Councilors. Only the strongest may rule. Rated M for violence and language, not to mention some possible sexual themes There shall be no lemons later in the story.
1. Prologue: The Challenge

**Alright, I decided to take a break from brainstorming my other stories for a while and try something new. This isn't very long, but this is just the prologue, so bear with it until Chapter 1 is finished. Warning, there are spoilers for people that have not beaten the Sith Inquisitor storyline, as well as for a few others. You have been warned. Enjoy.**

Prologue:

Lord Jarteth Varesh. No, Lord Kallig. He had thrown that name away when he became a Lord. Jarteth Varesh was his name as a slave and an acolyte. The day he killed Zash and claimed her followers was the day he truly broke his chains, just as stated in the Sith Code. Never again would he allow someone to dictate his fate. The ghosts had tried and failed. Thanaton had tried and failed.

As he reminded himself of his path to power, he thought back to those days. It had been nearly two decades since he joined the Dark Council. In less than a year, the pureblooded Sith had gone from being a slave to one of the most powerful people in the Empire. He thought back to the worlds he visited, remembering them as though they were yesterday. But one stuck out in his mind the most.

Taris. The ruined world. A symbol of Sith domination and brutality. Malgus would have said that it was a symbol of Sith stupidity, as it rallied the Republic against the pretender, Malak. It was a wasteland of destroyed buildings and crashed ships. Rakghouls infested the planet to its core. The Sith Lord had to cut his way through his fair share of them. All to lure out Ashara Zavros, who could bring out the ghost.

Ashara. Her ideals sickened him at first, and they had argued fiercely. But they eventually came to a compromise. The Togruta ex-Jedi began to incorporate the Sith Code into her philosophy, and Jarteth came to realize that the Empire was weakened by petty discrimination and constant warfare.

_Peace is a lie, there is only Passion. Through Passion, I gain Strength._

A lesson that was pounded into his head immediately by Spindrall in the tomb of Ajunta Pal. Though at the time he knew the words, the meaning only came through experience. He gathered the artifacts of Tulak Hord, sharpened his rage against his enemies.

_Through Strength, I gain Power._

He already acknowledged that he was strong in the Force when he was brought to Korriban, but did not realize the true extent of it until Darth Zash's body lay cold at his feet, her soul bound in Khem Val. With his Master's "death", he became a Lord, and gained a following of his own, not to mention the ire of Darth Thanaton.

_Through Power, I gain Victory. Through Victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me._

Though the means to gain power almost killed him, he utterly destroyed a Dark Council member, and then took his place, claiming the name Darth Nox. Now he was above all but the Emperor, and he had been silent for nearly a decade before.

During his musings, Darth Nox noted a voice speaking. At some point, he had allowed his eyes to close, but he was not sleeping.

"A slave should not be on the Dark Council, especially since he sleeps through half of the sessions."

Every Dark Council member in the room, save three, froze at the remark. Nox's eyes snapped open, and he leveled a scathing glare at the speaker. The Dark Lord's response was deliberate, laden with threat and warning, "I would take care to watch that tongue if I were you, Ravage. Lest I tear it out."

The Darth in question merely adjusted himself in his seat, suddenly having flashbacks to an event nearly twenty years prior. The older Sith was starting to look his sixty-seven years. Wrinkles had been visible on his face when Jarteth took charge of the Pyramid of Knowledge. Now his hair was mostly gray, and his face had a leathery quality. Dark side corruption now marred his skin, and red eyes stared back at Darth Nox unflinchingly.

The only other Sith not paralyzed with fear were Darth Marr and Darth Vowrawn. Marr, sensing a conflict about to occur, spoke, "Silence Ravage. As I said two decades ago, Darth Nox earned his place. Now let us continue."

_What was there to continue?_ Nox wondered to himself, _The Emperor is dead. Killed by the hands of a Jedi._

Inwardly, he snarled. Somehow, a single ship, carrying a pair of Jedi Knights and a Sith traitor, had managed to infiltrate the homeworld, march into the Dark Temple, and slay the Emperor himself. Once more, he was glad that Ashara had left the Jedi. Otherwise, he might have unleashed his rage upon seeing her. In the days after the Emperor died, many Jedi on Corellia breathed their last, slain by Nox himself. It had been the most convenient location to find Jedi at, short of storming their temple on Tython.

The following years had not been kind to the Empire. Their forces had been completely pushed off of Corellia and Alderaan, and Balmorra followed five years later. The Republic forces invaded Bothawi, and placed a monument on the location of Jedi General Alusis' last stand. The battle lasted for seven months, with heavy casualties. They had also launched a daring raid on Korriban itself not once, but twice. Both times they had been driven off.

There was better news, however. Nar Shaddaa was still neutral ground, and the Krayts were still going strong and growing stronger. The Dark Lord had converted it from a street gang and cult to a mobile academy, churning out powerful apprentices from the planet's underworld. Ilum was neither Republic nor Empire, and was still a much contested planet. Hoth was firmly in the Empire's grasp. Belsavis was a ruined wasteland, as the Esh-Ka finally broke out and took over, slaughtering both Republics and Imperials. Tatooine was also in the Hutts' pocket, and neither group dared encroach too much.

Nox watched the meeting progress for a while before doing something in response to Ravage's earlier outburst. A near invisible smile stretched the right corner of his mouth as he applied crushing pressure to Ravage's body.

The look on his face was priceless. The opposing Sith Lord's eyebrows furrowed as he tried to move, and found that he could not. He tried to speak, but found that his mouth was clamped shut and his breathing constricted slightly. Conversation and debate went on for a few minutes longer. None of the other Councilors noticed until the pressure cracked the left arm of Ravage's throne.

Darth Mortis, the one who had offered the seat to Nox in the first place, simply looked at Nox and stated, "Nox, release him."

The Sith Lord sighed and did as demanded. The sudden lifting of pressure made Ravage jerk forward before he could catch himself. Nox started stroking the bony spike growing out of his right cheek with a malicious smile on his face as Ravage glared daggers at him. Vowrawn chuckled in the background, and Marr broke a rare grin beneath his helmet.

His amusement found and used up, Nox proceeded to ignore the rest of the meeting. At some point, he must have drifted off again. He was awoken by a single sentence.

"Too tired, Darth Nox? Must have used up all of your energy with your Togruta whore."

The entire room went dead silent as half of the Dark Council flinched. Even Vowrawn and Mortis looked wary. The Imperial Guards at the door started backing away. They had been working with the Dark Council long enough that they knew what buttons would set off each individual Lord. And Ravage had just rammed Nox's. If one wanted to remain among the living, they did not insult Nox's mistress and apprentice.

In the blink of an eye, Nox leaped across the room, his violet double-bladed lightsaber ignited in his left hand and lightning crackling in his right. Ravage barely had time to draw his own weapon to block Nox's onslaught. Lightning shot into the Sith Lord's chest as he parried blows from the violet weapon. In desperation, he Force-pushed with all of his might, sending Nox flying backwards towards his own throne before leaping down to the center of the room.

Nox back-flipped in the air, planting his feet firmly against the chair's back and pushed himself back towards his foe, lightsaber spinning. Another burst of lightning streaked towards Ravage, who dodged just in time. The errant lightning slammed into Ravage's empty throne, scorching the metal.

Violet met red repeatedly, almost faster than the eye could track. More lightning crackled along the former's blade, almost shorting out Ravage's lightsaber at first contact.

"ENOUGH!" Marr's voice thundered as both Sith Lords found themselves unable to breathe. Their respective lightsabers clattered to the floor as they reached for their throats. Even though they were struggling, the two continued to glare at each other.

Both Lords were forcefully returned to their seats, their weapons following soon after. Darth Marr looked back and forth between the two, "This is neither the time nor the place for your petty dispute."

Nox responded, "Fine. This petty squabbling has gone on long enough. We will settle this the old-fashioned way. I challenge Ravage to a Kaggath."

Marr was stunned, while Ravage was infuriated, "You want me to play one of your ridiculous games, Nox?"

A frown marred Nox's face, "The Kaggath is no game, Ravage. Unless you are too frightened to participate. If so, I will cut you down before this day is over."

Ravage's mouth twitched into a snarl, "Very well. Name the location and date."

"Ilum, one week from now," Nox stated, barely preventing himself from snarling as well. With that, Darth Nox stormed out of the Dark Council Chamber, leaving shocked Lords and Imperial Guards in his wake.

**Alright, here is the prologue to Politics of the Sith. I know it's not very long, but it's a prologue. Before I get too engrossed with this particular idea, I wanted to get a general feel for how people feel about this story. Review please.**


	2. Calm Before the Storm

**A/N: I got done with this chapter a lot sooner than I thought I would. Now that the Kaggath is declared, Darth Nox must begin his preparations.**

Chapter 1: Calm Before the Storm

Nox's footsteps echoed in the hallways of the Korriban Academy as acolytes scurried to get out of his way. His rage had finally spiked in the Council Chambers, but now it was starting to cool. In a moment of doubt, the Sith Lord wondered if perhaps he had made a mistake, and that there was still a chance for reconciliation with Ravage.

He shook his head. No. This conflict had been long in coming. Ravage had never approved of his appointment to the Dark Council, even less so of his attitude towards aliens. Nox in turn did not approve of Ravage supporting Darth Baras when the man began ranting that he was the Emperor's Voice. Already having a grudge against Baras in the first place, the Dark Councilor was ecstatic when his twin sons, the rotund Sith Lord's former apprentices turned Emperor's Wrath, shut the lunatic up. While he was relieved that they were alive, Nox was not pleased that they chose to banish Baras rather than kill him. Their mother would have agreed, but he did not.

As a Dark Council member, he had his own office in the Academy. Nox sat down heavily in his padded chair. Looking around the room, his eyes lingered on the trophies and memories that dotted the walls. His original single-bladed lightsaber, gifted to him by Darth Zash when he was taken as her apprentice, sat inside of a transparisteel case next to Thanaton's lightsaber. An enormous fake Krayt dragon head was attached to the wall above it, a reminder of his cult on Nar Shadaa. A Tusken Raider's Gaffi Stick was propped up in the corner, topped with the ridiculous hat of a House Organa Guard.

On the other side of the room was a preserved Rakghoul head from Taris. It was enclosed inside of its own airtight case so that the smell would not carry. A Kaleesh mask he acquired on Hoth was set on top of the case. It looked similar to Xalek's, but when he got a closer look, he noticed individually carved marks. The general shape was the same, but each mask had unique designs to them. A holoterminal provided a direct link to the artificial intelligence that aided him on Belsavis, as well as letting him stay in contact with his power base. On a pedestal next to it rested an ancient Sith holocron salvaged from the ruins on Voss.

The very chair he was sitting in had been stolen from Lord Grathan's compound on Dromund Kaas. Say whatever they want about the man, but let it always be known that the deranged Sith was a genius when it came to cyborgs and chairs.

He frowned when he thought about Corellia and Balmora. They had been constant warzones, leaving him few opportunities to gather something to remember them by.

Finally, in a special place of honor on a stand on his desk, lay the slave collar that he wore before he came to Korriban.

He briefly thought back to the days when Harkin tried to intimidate and kill him, only to be thwarted at every turn. Watching him squirm after each unsuccessful attempt more than made up for being forced to delve into dangerous tombs with nothing but a glowstick and a vibroblade for company. It had been so satisfying to kill him when Nox came for his apprentice later on. The man had really known how to bring out the worst in people. The Sith Lord was amazed that he wasn't killed in infancy.

Once again, his musings were interrupted by outside stimuli as a figure came into his office from his quarters. Nox swiveled his chair enough to see. He wasn't surprised as Ashara stalked into the room and draped herself over the back of his chair, her arms wrapping around his neck.

"What's wrong, my Lord husband?" She asked, a slight tilt to her head, "It's not often that you are lost in memories."

Nox sighed and looked straight up at her, his eyes meeting hers, "I thought we agreed that you would stop calling me "my Lord" nearly seventeen years ago, at least in public. You're the only one I can be normal with anymore." He spun the chair abruptly, tripping the former Jedi. She yelped and landed in his lap, a pout on her face. The Sith Lord only gave a mischievous smirk.

The Togruta had truly come into her own. When he had met her, she was nearly eighteen and still a Padawan learner. She had been wiry, with the body of a teenager. She had…filled out in the years since, in more ways than one. Now at the age of thirty-eight, her power and skill with her lightsabers were comparable to some of the mightiest Sith. Her skin had darkened slightly and her horns had grown a few more inches. Seventeen years ago, Nox had finally convinced her to marry him without the consent of the Jedi Council.

She was dressed in loose black robes, lacking her usual armor. What they lacked in protection, the clothing made up for in view. They showed a considerable amount of cleavage and leg, and her curves were emphasized. Her lightsabers were noticeably missing. However, knowing her, Nox suspected that they were very close by.

She stuck her tongue out at him before speaking, "True, but that still didn't answer my question."

Nox rolled his eyes. There was no escape now, "My rivalry with Ravage finally peaked. I challenged him to a Kaggath. It's taking place on Illum a week from today."

Ashara blinked, "A Kaggath? Like what you did to Thanaton? Are you trying to get yourself killed before we hit old age?"

He snorted and put his arms around her waist, securing her, "So far as I know, there has never been a Sith that died of natural causes." He pulled her into a passionate kiss that left her breathless for a moment, "Don't worry. I'll win this. After all I have you, Khem, and the rest of the crew from the old days."

"That doesn't exactly inspire confidence, Jarteth," She responded when she found her voice. If anyone else had said his true name, Nox would have killed them on the spot. Only Ashara and his closest allies were allowed to call him that, "You do remember how many times we got into trouble we couldn't escape from, right?"

Nox chuckled, "Of course I remember. But the Force was kind enough to send someone who could get us out of those situations."

Ashara gave a defeated groan, "You're in denial, husband." Her voice took on a sultry tone as she shifted closer to his chest, "If that's the way it'll be, then perhaps I can help. I learned a…ritual for luck from a friend of mine. Perhaps we should see if it works?"

One of the Dark Councilor's eye ridges rose in interest, "And where would we perform this ritual? Most rituals require deep concentration and a quiet place to work." He spared a glance to the doorway that she had walked through before, "Perhaps my quarters would be a suitable place?"

A predatory smile stretched the corners of her mouth, "That would be perfect."

In an instant, he put his arms underneath of her legs and back, lifting her up and making his way to the bedroom. When they passed into the room, Ashara jumped down from his arms and pushed him onto the bed. Despite his muscular six foot five frame, he went down easily, though the bed did not appreciate it.

The Sith Lord propped himself onto one arm and watched as she walked towards him. In one quick movement, the black robes were on the ground, revealing the Togruta's bare skin. As fast as he could, Jarteth managed to remove the top portion of his own robes before she pounced on him. Their lips met and parted several times, both struggling to assert dominance over the other and to remove the remaining clothing.

Lightning crackled on the tips of Nox's fingers as they felt along Ashara's body, causing her to gasp. Goosebumps ran down her skin at both the contact and the static electricity. Suffice it to say that Nox had won their competition as to who the leader would be.

The pair paused for a moment to look each other over. Finding themselves pleased with their partner, they began anew with vigor. The lights remained on until a blast of lightning shorted all of them out.

* * *

Several hours later, in the Academy dormitories:

All of the acolytes were scared out of their wits. They had been awoken by the crackling of lightning and a woman's screaming. Most, however, were still virgins and clueless about love-making, and weren't able to tell the difference between a tortured scream and a climax. For all they knew, there was a terrifying battle going on upstairs between two Sith Lords. If they went to watch, they would most likely get caught in the crossfire and brutally murdered.

Only half of their assumptions were correct.

* * *

Same time, Overseer's lounge:

Unable to sleep, five of the overseers were now playing a drinking game while they played Pazaak. Every time someone heard a scream, they took a drink from their glass. Four hours into the game resulted in five very drunk overseers laughing at random points for reasons obvious only to themselves.

They didn't wake anyone else up because the rest of the overseers had already nearly overdosed on sleep aid medication.

* * *

Next Morning:

Nox groaned and opened his eyes. Somewhere around three hours past midnight, both he and Ashara finally fell asleep. He looked at the ceiling and froze. His gaze slowly began to traverse the room.

The walls were lined with scorch marks from hundreds of lightning strikes, and the lights had burst from electrical overload. The only source of light for the room was the skylight that the Dark Lord had installed several weeks prior. The service droid in the corner had exploded, littering the floor with shrapnel. All in all, the entire room looked as though a tornado came through it, which was entirely possible considering the occupants.

The cleaning droids were going to have a fit.

He looked down at his chest, only to see Ashara halfway draped across it. As gently and as quietly as he could, Nox removed himself from the bed. The movement drew a tired groan from his bedmate as she rolled over and went back into deep slumber. He slipped into the shower to prepare for the day. He took a moment to look in the mirror.

His eyes still had the same glowing red that they did decades ago, though the wrinkles around his them were new. The spike growths coming out of his eye ridges, cheeks, and chin were starting to acquire the limpness common in older Pureblooded Sith. He frowned. He wasn't that old yet. He was only forty. His skin, once a vibrant blood-red color, now dulled to a rusty red-orange. Sighing, he stepped into the shower.

Tugging on his battle robes once he got out, he stepped back out into the office and keyed in Khem's holo frequency. The Deshade appeared on the holo projector moments later.

"_Yes, my Master?_" He asked. In all the time that Nox had known him, the monster had not aged a single day. Unfortunately, the same could be said for his odor. There was a reason that Khem was off in the tombs with Talos and not at his Master's side constantly.

"A Kaggath has been declared, between myself and Ravage. I need you to gather up Talos and meet me at the ship," The Darth replied.

A grin spread across the ugly face of Khem Val, "_A challenge. Finally. Though it will not be on par with Yn and Chabosh._"

Nox shook his head, "If you stopped comparing everything to Yn and Chabosh, you would enjoy life a lot more, Khem."

The monster snorted before cutting the connection.

Moving on, he typed in the next frequency.

"Yes, Lord?" Xalek asked. The Kaleesh Sith had earned his place as a Lord and gained his own apprentices ten years ago. Even though he was an alien, he commanded much respect for his prowess and his connections.

"Meet me at Ilum. We have business to take care of with Ravage."

"I shall bring my followers, Lord." The terminal disconnected. Nox's fingers were already flying.

"Yeah Sith?" A familiar voice queried.

"Andronikas. Gather your forces, there is a Kaggath to be won." Andronikas had become the head of a significantly sized pirate fleet in the past twenty years. He was in his late thirties when Jarteth met him on Tatooine, and now his wrinkles were more pronounced. Though he was in his fifties, he was still in great shape and fighting on the front lines with his crew.

The older pirate nodded and saluted, "Aye aye, Captain. Anything else you want me to bring?"

"Send out a call to the allied Moffs, tell them to assemble my fleet at Ilum by the end of the week. Same for the Krayts. Other than that, just meet me there," Nox ordered.

"Alright. So who'd you piss of this time, boss?" The pirate asked, arms crossed with an eyebrow raised.

"Darth goddamn Ravage. Our conflict finally escalated in yesterday's session. So I challenged him to a Kaggath," The Sith Lord answered, and he then proceeded to explain the circumstances. The pirate was one of the few people who could speak to this particular Darth with anything less than respect without risk of death.

Andronikas winced, "Ouch. Here I was hoping that it was a lesser Sith Lord that challenged you. Guess if you're gonna kick a gundark, you'd better aim for his balls." The pair shared a laugh before Andronikas signed off, "Take care of yourself, Sith."

As he shut off the holoterminal, Nox heard the sound of bare feet on tile flooring. He turned his head and smiled when he saw a disheveled-looking Ashara standing behind him, one hand on her hip.

"And who gave you permission to leave the bed?" the Togruta asked coyly.

Nox made an exaggerated heroic pose, "I am a Lord of the Sith, I go where I please!"

She laughed at the absurdity of both the statement and the pose, "Lord of the Sith, yes. Lord of the Bed, no."

The Sith Lord smiled and wrapped an enormous arm around her waist. Even though she had grown a bit since they met, Ashara was still dwarfed by her husband, a trait not shared by their children, "I had to begin making arrangements for Ilum. Sorry if I woke you up."

"Nah. Andronikas was the one that woke me up, not you. Guy needs to learn how to keep his voice down," Ashara quipped as she pressed herself to his chest.

Nox flicked her forehead, "It's not entirely his fault. I didn't exactly tell him that you were here."

"Not like it's any of his business…" She muttered.

Nox pretended not to hear it, "Gather your armor and weapons. I plan to leave in two hours."

She pouted at him, and looked back and forth between Nox and the bedroom door.

Nox rolled his eyes, "Oh alright. I'm sure that Khem and Talos can wait an hour or two.

* * *

One half hour later, Academy Torture Chamber:

Inquisitor Zyn was having a delightful day. He had prisoners to torture and excellent students to teach, though sometimes the two traded places. He had even composed a song from prisoners' agonized shrieks. On a whim, he released a bolt of lightning into the air in front of him, just to hear the crackle. As he did, a scream echoed from the room above him. The inquisitor paused. When he heard no sound, he did it again. The scream echoed again.

Finding himself a new form of entertainment, he started blasting lightning into the air at random intervals. Coincidentally, they lined up perfectly with Ashara, who was screaming for an entirely different reason.

* * *

Three hours later:

A half-dressed Sith Lord known as Darth Nox rushed through the Academy with his shirt bunched in his hands, trailed by a mostly-clothed Togruta. As he ran, he slipped his clothing over his head and secured them, making sure that he hadn't left his lightsaber in his office. Ashara was quickly finishing up buttoning her clothing, making a point of ignoring the male acolytes gawking at her and glaring at the female acolytes that gawked at her husband.

When they reached the private hanger where the Fury-class interceptor was docked, they found an impatient Deshade shadow-killer and a sleeping archaeologist.

"_By the Force, where were you, Master?"_ Khem demanded. The monster's angry rant was cut off by a glare from the Sith Lord as he rushed into the hanger.

The sudden rise in commotion startled Talos awake, "Oh my Lord, you're here! I found the most intriguing thing in the tombs."

"Later, Talos. For now, let's get everything into the ship."

"_That is what we were doing until you arrived. Everything is put away,_ Khem grumbled.

"Oh," Nox blinked, "Umm…Let's get ourselves on the ship then and get out of here."

Khem stopped for a second to help Talos up from his sitting position. Five years previously, the archaeologist had been caught in a cave-in, which damaged his left leg almost beyond repair. He now had most of his functionality restored to it, but he was forced to rely on a cane to walk around. Normally, the Sith Lord would have killed any who were no longer useful to him. Fortunately for Talos, the man headed up the Archaeology division of the Pyramid of Knowledge and no longer needed to go onto the battlefield.

Nox, Ashara, and Khem all hurried up the ramp of the ship, with Talos hobbling behind. When all were aboard, the Sith dashed to the cockpit and activated the launching sequence. Inputting the coordinates, he placed the ship on auto-pilot and headed to his quarters aboard the interceptor.

Talos once again caught him before he could get away, "My Lord!"

"Yes, Talos?" The archaeologist had always been a little too bubbly for his tastes, but he had proved useful over the years.

He dug around inside of the satchel he had on his left shoulder, "I found this out in the tombs this morning, before you call. It was in the Tomb of Tulak Hord." When he opened his hand, it revealed a crystal unlike any Nox had seen before. It was black, and reflected no light.

The Sith Lord was immediately entranced by it, "Is that what I think it is?"

"If you think that it is a lightsaber crystal, then you would be correct, my Lord," Talos answered proudly.

Gingerly taking it from his hands, Nox examined it closely. A black crystal. Something the Sith had not seen for time beyond measure, "Perhaps Khem would know more."

As though he had been called, the Deshade stepped into the room. He was frozen in his tracks when his eyes set themselves on the crystal, "_My Master's lightsaber crystal…"_

He looked as though he was about to go into one of his rants about how Tulak's power should not be in the hands of children, but shook his head before continuing, "_You are the heir of all that Tulak Hord built. It is rightfully yours."_

With that, the monster stalked out of the room, presumably to brood some more. Both Talos and Nox watched him go. They looked at each other and then shrugged.

"I am most grateful. I shall put it to good use," Talos bowed in response before hobbling back to his quarters.

Now free to return to his room, he stopped at the doorway. He had not been off of Korriban for months. Thankfully, his droid had kept everything in order while he was gone. There was not a spot of dust anywhere in his cabin.

On a stand next to the bed lay the original Lord Kallig's mask. Nox had not worn it since that fateful day in the Dark Council chamber. Next to it lay his ancestral lightsaber. It had a single-bladed hilt, made unique by its unusual curve. A simple Force pull brought it to his hand. Sitting down on his bed, he crossed his legs into a meditation pose. The weapon floated up from his hand, disassembling itself in the air until the red synth-crystal stood alone. The parts orbited the meditating Sith like asteroids. The crystal floated away from the other parts, replaced by the black crystal moments later. In seconds, the lightsaber was back together.

Nox's left hand grasped the hilt as he tapped the activator. The black blade ignited, seeming to absorb the light, rather than project it. A smile stretched across his face. This was the weapon of a conquerer.

With his spare hand, he put on his "face". The red eyes of a Sith Lord stared out at the world from behind the gun-metal grey of the mask of Lord Kallig once more.

**A/N: You know what's funny? The spell check on my Microsoft Word didn't try to correct the term "Darth." Not sure if anyone else found that amusing, but I just wanted to point that out. Review please.**


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